Preparedness begins with understanding your local hazards. A hazard is any potential source of harm or difficulty and may be natural or manmade. High-risk hazards have a high likelihood of local occurrence and may result in serious consequences to life safety, property, critical infrastructure, the environment, and the economy.

Risk = Likelihood + Consequence

Hazard Resources

For detailed information on hazard risk in Howard County, the following resources provide detailed information on hazard risk in Howard County:

Community Hazard Handbook – An overview of local hazards and hazard risk designed for families and businesses in Howard County.

The Office of Emergency Management
conducted the research and created content for the HIRA in 2014 and 2015, as
such it does not include references or data pertaining to incidents and events
that have occurred since that time. The office of Emergency Management
has a planned update to this document that will take place on a regular basis
and will include events that have taken place since the previous version was
created. These events include items such as:

The civil unrest in
Baltimore

The snowstorm of
2016

The tornado of 2016

The flooding event
in Ellicott City in 2016

The Howard County Government Website Hack

The flooding event in Ellicott City in 2018

Prepare Yourself

Understanding your hazard risk is only the first step toward building a resilient community. Learn more about how you can protect your home or business from the consequences of a disaster at the following locations: